Accreditation Procedure

The current objects of the accreditation process are study programs for Bachelor, Master and Doctoral Degrees from State-, or State-recognized, Higher Education Institutions in Europe and North America. If a study program has successfully undergone an accreditation process, then it is awarded accreditation for a limited period, with or without conditions, and carries the Quality Seal of the Foundation for the duration of this period. Where any study programs are combined in a logical and justified way, the accreditation can also be carried out in a combined way. In such cases the accreditation decision is always made on the basis of the individual study program.

The accreditation process is made up of several stages and is based on the peer review principle. When a Higher Education Institution submits an application for the accreditation of a study program to an agency that they have chosen, the relevant agency deploys an evaluation group whose composition must be a reflection not just of the specialist content focus of the study program but also of its specific profile. In each case the evaluation group is made up of representatives of Higher Education Institutions, i.e. professors and students, and of representatives of the profession. The evaluation of the study program is carried out in accordance with the given Criteria for the Accreditation of Study Programs by the Accreditation Council and, as a rule, includes an on-site inspection of the establishment by the evaluators. On the basis of the assessment report drawn up by the evaluation group and in accordance with the decision regulations provided by the Accreditation Council, the responsible Accreditation Commission from the agency decides either to grant an accreditation for the relevant study program, to grant an accreditation with conditions, to abandon the process or to reject the accreditation.

The accreditation of study programs for Bachelor and Master Degrees in Germany is prescribed as a directive in the common constitutional requirements of the Conference of German Cultural Ministers and must, as a precondition for the granting of state approval, be embedded in the various individual laws concerning Higher Education in each Federal German State.

Contact:

ACQUIN-INT
Im Brauereivierte 24118 Kiel Germany
acquin.int@gmail.com

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